New Delhi, May 31 (IANS). To give a new impetus to water research and innovation in India, the Government is going to launch ‘Maha on Water’ (Mission for Advancement in High Impact Areas of Water Sector), a joint initiative of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and Research National Research Foundation (ANRF), which aims to promote cutting-edge research in priority areas such as water resources management, drinking water, climate resilience and water use efficiency. This was announced on Sunday.
The open invitation process for research proposals under this initiative will also be announced during the ‘National Workshop on Research and Development in Water Sector’ to be held in the national capital on Monday.
According to the ministry statement, this workshop will be attended by key representatives from government, industry, academia, scientific institutions, startups and technical organizations. It aims to strengthen India’s water research ecosystem and accelerate innovation-based solutions for sustainable water management.
This one-day workshop was inaugurated by Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, Minister of State for Science and Technology (Independent Charge) Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary and Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Dr. V. Narayanan. Dr. Narayanan is also the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology.
The Jal Shakti Ministry will also launch an open invitation process for startups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under the Bharat-WIN portal to promote product and prototype development in the water sector.
A participatory digital platform called ‘Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: Catch the Rain’ (JSJB: CTR) will also be launched during the workshop, which will help citizens, institutions and local bodies document and showcase initiatives related to water conservation, rain water harvesting and groundwater recharge, thereby promoting water conservation at the community level.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is also likely to be signed between the Jal Shakti Ministry and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which aims to strengthen the use of satellite-based applications and advanced technologies for assessment, monitoring and management of water resources. Under this, 24 priority studies and areas of work have already been identified for cooperation.
Several technical sessions will also be organized in the workshop, in which important topics like groundwater management, irrigation methods, river morphology, flood zone mapping, climate resilience, ecological assessment, safety of dams and hydraulic structures will be discussed.
–IANS
DBP